COMMODIFICATION OF LOCAL WISDOM IN THE GLOBAL TOURISM ERA: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PARADOX CASES OF UTILIZATION OF BALINESE LOCAL WISDOM WITH TIMOR-LESTE

Abstract Bali and Timor Leste have the same vision for developing their country, namely to make tourism one of the sources of foreign exchange income for the country. As is known, the two parties’ experiences in managing tourism are very different. On the one hand, Bali has recovered since the new normal in May 2022. On the other hand, Timor Leste has only started its tourism activities since breaking away from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia in 2002 and is recovering. Bali is used to managing various tourism activities on a global scale. To be precise, Bali is the venue for various international-scale activities, such as the World Culture Forum, Miss World, IMF, the G20 Summit, which will take place in 2022, and other international events. It is this kind of existence that encourages us to build a collaborative research relationship between Warmadewa Bali University and the Institute of Business (IOB) of Timor Leste by raising the research topic: Commodification of Local Wisdom in the Era of Global Tourism: “A Comparative Case Study of the Paradox of Utilization of Local Wisdom in Bali and Timor Leste.” It is exciting to study commodities because nowadays, commodities are not limited to goods, money, and services but sacred objects, education, holy places, sex, and even death. All of these phenomena indicate that the world’s existence is without borders or boundaries. This study uses a qualitative approach—data collection methods through observation, interviews, and literature support. Then, the theories used to dissect the research problem are the commodification theory and the theory of power and knowledge